How to adjust my swing to compensate for my lack of flexibility?

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mithong

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So basically, ever since I was young, I've been SUPER inflexible. Shoulders, hips, hamstrings, everything is very tight and has a very limited range of motion.

As a result, I have a very hard time maintaining a bent over posture throughout the swing and I also have a very hard time clearing my hips on the downswing. (one of the big issues i have with my swing is that my upper body and arms fling past mystalled hips on the downswing, causing a massive pull hook)


What compensations would you make for this lack of flexibility? I have heard that it is best for an inflexible person to use a more neutral grip, as a strong grip requires lots of hip clearing to keep the clubface square (not sure if this is true). Should I attempt a TGM hitting style action with angled hinging? (I feel like horizontal hinging is bad for me because I have such a terrible pivot)


Which one of brian's patterns should I try to model my swing after?

I am going to try and improve my flexibility, but for now, I am stuck with what I've got.
 
Erik_K

Erik_K

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Is there some reason why the flexibility can't be improved?

In your case I am wondering if playing with a fade is the way to go. You don't need a strong grip and you can set up a little open to the target which helps enable a free turn through the ball. Perhaps Never Hook Again (?)

Unless you are injured or had some surgery that prohibits the range of motion to some degree, I'd give serious thought to yoga and/or some stretches. In this day and age there's virtually unlimited information on stretching. You can find video descriptions on just about any stretch for the quads, hip flexors, groin, hamstrings, shoulders, back, etc.

I recently purchased a foam roller for my lower back, hamstrings, and quads. I've also used something like a Boccee ball to help massage the glutes. Seriously all of this stuff helps increase flexibility, lower stress, and improve performance (also recovery).

Erik
 
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mithong

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Erik_K said:
Is there some reason why the flexibility can't be improved?

In your case I am wondering if playing with a fade is the way to go. You don't need a strong grip and you can set up a little open to the target which helps enable a free turn through the ball. Perhaps Never Hook Again (?)

Unless you are injured or had some surgery that prohibits the range of motion to some degree, I'd give serious thought to yoga and/or some stretches. In this day and age there's virtually unlimited information on stretching. You can find video descriptions on just about any stretch for the quads, hip flexors, groin, hamstrings, shoulders, back, etc.

I recently purchased a foam roller for my lower back, hamstrings, and quads. I've also used something like a Boccee ball to help massage the glutes. Seriously all of this stuff helps increase flexibility, lower stress, and improve performance (also recovery).

Erik
Click to expand...

i'm sure that it can be improved, but I will always be limited... I'm sure that there are certain swing patterns/methodologies that I will never be able to perform because of my natural lack of flexibility.
 
Erik_K

Erik_K

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One must remember that the governing rule around here is the D - plane. It's what the path and face (and their relation) are doing that counts. You can have all of the flexibility in the world, but if your clubface control sucks, what difference does it make?

In my opinion to play either a draw or fade does not require oodles of athletic talent or flexibility.

But to answer your question - the NHA pattern is fine for you.

Erik
 
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softconsult

New
If we accept that your swing is what it is, and you hit pulls, why don't you simply grip the club with a more open face until the ball goes more straight.
 
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bgoodyear

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I also endorse NHA in this case. When I use that pattern I turn my shoulders considerably less. And the leftward motion will help you clear your hips.
 
ZAP

ZAP

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I guess I never really though about it much but NHA does seem to require less in terms of flexibility.
 
Todd Dugan

Todd Dugan

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Why have you bought into the myth that you must be very flexible to play good golf? Flexibility is not a requirement for an efficient D Plane.
 
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ej20

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For very inflexible players,I would limit the length of the backswing in terms of how far you take the club back.Keep the club well short of parallel and "laid off".

Inflexible players maybe ABLE to make a long backswing with high hands but they will never be able to drop the hands and club back into the ideal slot without deadening their lower body movement.They will come OTT when they try to hit as hard as they can and wonder why they can't fix it.
 
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Jim Kobylinski

Super Moderator
ej20 said:
For very inflexible players,I would limit the length of the backswing in terms of how far you take the club back.Keep the club well short of parallel and "laid off".

Inflexible players maybe ABLE to make a long backswing with high hands but they will never be able to drop the hands and club back into the ideal slot without deadening their lower body movement.They will come OTT when they try to hit as hard as they can and wonder why they can't fix it.
Click to expand...

this is an excellent answer
 
mgranato

mgranato

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These last 3 posts have just turned on all kinds of light bulbs.

Just for a reference... would laid off see the grip of the club pointing well beyond the ball at a left arm parallel position from DTL?
 
L

Lindsey Newman

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Laid off is a generalization, but yes the club should be pointing outside of the ball. It is my belief that "pointing at the ball" is to steep coming out of transition. In the backswing I'm never overly concerned with a shaft pointing at the ball or even steeper, but once the transition is complete, that shaft ideally would be pointing well outside of the ball.
 
M

mithong

New
ej20 said:
For very inflexible players,I would limit the length of the backswing in terms of how far you take the club back.Keep the club well short of parallel and "laid off".

Inflexible players maybe ABLE to make a long backswing with high hands but they will never be able to drop the hands and club back into the ideal slot without deadening their lower body movement.They will come OTT when they try to hit as hard as they can and wonder why they can't fix it.
Click to expand...


does this mean that I should have a good amount of left arm rotation on the backswing to make my club laid off and closer to the optimal "transition" position? I'm assuming SD and NHA backswings wouldn't work for me....


I'm guessing that an optimal backswing for someone like me would be a pretty flat backswing with shallow plane... so that in the transition from backswing to downswing there isn't a lot of (if any) re routing of the club to get it into the "slot"
 
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M

mithong

New
ej20 said:
For very inflexible players,I would limit the length of the backswing in terms of how far you take the club back.Keep the club well short of parallel and "laid off".

Inflexible players maybe ABLE to make a long backswing with high hands but they will never be able to drop the hands and club back into the ideal slot without deadening their lower body movement.They will come OTT when they try to hit as hard as they can and wonder why they can't fix it.
Click to expand...

any thoughts on the grip? am i right that I need a neutral grip because of my inability to rotate my hips as much as a normal person?
 
O

OLIVER1

New
Lindsey Newman said:
Laid off is a generalization, but yes the club should be pointing outside of the ball. It is my belief that "pointing at the ball" is to steep coming out of transition. In the backswing I'm never overly concerned with a shaft pointing at the ball or even steeper, but once the transition is complete, that shaft ideally would be pointing well outside of the ball.
Click to expand...
Lindsey, would this be true for any level of flexibility?
 
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